DRIVE DISABLING MECHANISM FOR A VEHICLE

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to drive disabling mechanism for a vehicle and more particularly to an auxiliary drive disabling means for vehicle provided with an engine having automatic transmission.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Straddle type vehicles such as motorcycles have a transmission system to carry the power generated by the internal combustion engine, in a controllable way, to a wheel of the vehicle. The transmission system includes a shift mechanism having a main shaft, a drive shaft, multiple step speed change gear mechanism and a clutch mechanism that interrupts the transmission while operating the speed change gear. More broadly a manual transmission system comprises a system of interlocking gears such that by operating a gear shift lever manually, the driver can choose one of the several ratios of speed between the input shaft and the output shaft. To allow smooth and gradual shifting of gears, the clutch is provided to isolate the engine from the transmission momentarily. When the driver releases the clutch lever manually, the discs in the clutch assembly are squeezed with each other and thus the transmission is engaged with the engine.

Off lately, automatic and semi automatic transmission systems have come into the art for ease of operation of gearshift and clutch actuation. In some automatic transmission systems, the operation of clutch actuation and gear actuation are accomplished by electronic means powered by a battery and controlled by a micro controller. However, in the event of the malfunction of the controller or during battery discharge or any other reason, the vehicle would be running either in neutral gear or with any of the gears engaged. In case the vehicle is in any of the gear engaged position during the aforementioned malfunction, it would come to a stop and it would not be possible for the driver, due to gear engagement, to push the vehicle to the nearby service centre for vehicle check up or maintenance to bring it into operable condition again.

There is thus a need to overcome the above problem by a simple mechanism by which the drive to the wheel of the vehicle can be disengaged manually so as to facilitate the rider to push the vehicle to the nearby service centre.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is hence an objective of the present invention to provide a manually operable drive disabling mechanism capable to operate along with an automatic transmission system with electromechanical actuators, either for gear shift actuation or clutch actuation or both, to bring the vehicle into manually movable condition after the vehicle comes into a stop in case of the transmission failure. To this end, the present invention discloses a drive disabling mechanism for disengaging a clutch from an engine of a vehicle through a simple mechanical system comprising a clutch release rod connected to a manually operable lever and a clutch release pin working in tandem with other components of an automatic clutch actuation system to disengage the drive from the wheel.

The foregoing objectives and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present subject matter. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present subject matter as well as the subject matter itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the ensuing detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features, aspects and advantages of the subject matter will be better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims and accompanying drawings, where:

Figure 1 depicts a schematic view of a drive disabling mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention in a state where the clutch cover has been removed.

Figure 2 illustrates a sectional view of the drive disabling mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 illustrates a bottom view of the drive disabling mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DECRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The subject matter described herein provides a simple mechanical drive disabling mechanism for disengaging the drive to the wheel. Various other features and embodiments of the present subject matter here will be discernible from the following description thereof, set out hereunder. The present invention is now described in detail in connection with the rendered drawings. The detailed explanation of the constitution of parts other than the invention which constitutes an essential part have been omitted at suitable places.

Figure 1 depicts a schematic view of the drive disabling mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention with the clutch cover removed. The said drive disabling mechanism comprises a clutch release rod 11 connected to a manually operable lever 17 and a clutch release pin 12 connected to the clutch release rod 11 through a slot 18. The lever 17 is located outside a clutch cover (not shown) for ease of access. The clutch release rod 11 is located internal to the dutch cover proximate to a lug 15 of an actuator plunger of an automatic clutch actuation system. In a bottom view, the clutch release pin 12 is provided below the extended portion 16 of the actuator plunger. One end of the clutch release rod 11 extends beyond the lug 15 and is located on a boss on the clutch cover whereas the other end projects out of the clutch cover and connected to the lever 17 through a known link mechanism. The clutch release rod 11 is capable to rotate and its reciprocatory motion is restricted. Suitable sealing means is provided in the clutch cover to prevent oil leakage. Figure 2 shows a sectional view of the drive disabling mechanism.

Figure 3 illustrates a bottom view of the drive disabling mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention. The invention works befittingly with a known automatic clutch actuation system. When the rider of the vehicle detects that the automatic clutch actuation system has failed due to various reasons and the vehicle comes to a stop with gear engaged, he may use the present drive disabling mechanism to disconnect the drive to the wheel. The manually operable lever 17 is pulled and rotated so that the clutch release rod 11 is rotated consequently. The clutch release pin 12 secured in the slot 18 of the clutch release rod 11 also turns angularly thereby enabling the forward movement of the lug 15 of the actuator plunger of the automatic transmission system for clutch actuation toward the clutch, thereby disengaging the clutch. The lug moves forward and presses the clutch spring thereby disengaging the clutch. The lever 17 can remain in its rotated position and can return to its default position through a return spring 13.

Further the aforementioned drive disabling mechanism can also be functional if a helical screw is provided below the extended lug which upon turning clockwise or anticlockwise from outside the clutch cover moves the actuator plunger axially to engage or disengage the clutch.

It will be appreciated that the present invention and its equivalent thereof offers many advantages, including those which have been described forthwith. The present invention combines the functionality of an automatic clutch actuation mechanism along with the safety of a manual clutch disengagement mechanism and helps a rider to push the vehicle to a service centre in the event of automatic clutch actuation system failure.

The present invention is thus described. The foregoing description of the invention including the embodiments thereof has been presented for the purpose of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive nor is it intended to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Therefore the foregoing description is to be considered exemplary, rather than limiting, and the true scope of the invention is that described in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A drive disabling mechanism for disengaging a clutch from an engine of a vehicle, the said drive disabling mechanism capable to be accommodated with an automatic transmission system for clutch
actuation, the said drive disabling mechanism comprising:

a clutch release rod connected to a manually operable lever,

a clutch release pin connected to the clutch release rod, wherein

the said lever is pulled and rotated manually so that the clutch release rod turns angularly thereby enabling forward movement of a lug of an actuator plunger of the automatic transmission system for clutch actuation toward the clutch, thereby disengaging the clutch.

2. The drive disabling mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein the clutch release pin is located inside a clutch cover, the clutch release rod is substantially located inside the clutch cover and the said lever is located outside the clutch cover.

3. An automatic transmission system for clutch actuation comprising of and capable to accommodate a drive disabling mechanism as claimed in all the preceding claims.

4. A vehicle comprising a drive disabling mechanism as claimed in all the preceding claims.

5. A drive disabling mechanism substantially as herein described and illustrated with reference to accompanying drawings.